Yeah. It's that kind of cold.

It seems like everyone across the blog-o-sphere is commenting on the weather.

Guess what?!

This one is no different.

Mother Nature is a bitch and the wench has hit Chicago pretty hard with sub-zero temps the past week and a half. The HUGE! MASSIVE! WINTER! STORM! that the meteorologists had everyone in a tizzy over was supposed to deliver anywhere from 10-16 inches of snow (with more along the lakefront). In the end, we only ended up with about 5 inches. If that. Nothing we can't handle. Though the worst of it has been this unrelenting frigidness in the air. Stupid cold temperatures abound. We're talking colder than the balls on a brass monkey.

*Awesome*

Such temps allow all of us to throw on a few extra layers and pretend we're winter warriors (an idea that is absolutely wonderful...in theory). Over the past week, I got two outdoor runs in...a 4 and a 5 miler for the St. Louis half training. Let me tell you...running outside in this nonsense is highly overrated. And after years of running, I still get a nice fat "F" for dressing appropriately when it's below 20 degrees...it's an art I have yet to master.

Last Sunday I was one of the few who braved the cold for a run. I maybe saw all of 5 or 6 other runners out there.

Perhaps this could be the reason why...

Or maybe this...in case you can't tell, there's a ladder underneath all that ice somewhere...

Overall, the run was solid, albeit cold. Sections of the lakefront begged for Kristi Yamaguchi to lace up her skates and throw a few triple axels down (...is it really too much to ask for salt around the bend by the Drake?!), but for the most part the path was clear. The few folks I crossed paths with all shared that same look of "oh my gawd, what on earth were we thinking?!?" on their face. Smiles exchanged with strangers with a firey chill in my lungs made me feel so alive. It was a very good run, indeed.

Then this morning I headed north for a run in the snow with a few good friends. I completely forgot just how challenging hoofing it through a few inches of snow can be. My knees and ankles have been sore all day.

And uh...can you say effing freezing cold!? Lauren's blonde locks turned white as they became caked in a layer of frost. David had ice crystals crusted on his eyelashes and Dan's beard was a sugary flavored syrup away from being a slushie. For the most part, I walked away unscathed...save for some frost on my face, remnants of snot rockets iced to my nostrils, and a pair of thighsicles that wouldn't de-thaw until the late afternoon after a hot shower, several layers of fleece and a nap in my Snuggie.

This week Infinity Multisport got their new computrainer studio up and running. I stopped by their complimentary classes four times this week (which was about oh...3 times too many) and I had my ass handed to me over and over and over again. Between a coached ride, a 90-something ITU World Championship Course, some stupid hilly course in Germany loaded with 8% climbs that lasted 20 minutes and finishing out the week with the Escape from Alcatraz course...I was spent. And my tush was screaming from all the time in the saddle as I had promised I'd take it easy on the bike in the months following Ironman.

Apparently I lied.

I've never had the privilege of working out on a computrainer before and HOLY COW. It was tough. And agonizingly gruesome at times. And leaves zero opportunity for cheating (not that I would ever dream of doing such a thing!!). I don't remember the last time I ended up that sweaty from a trainer session. My hair was saturated and clothes pretty much soaked by the end of the hour.

But I'm all registered for their weekly class and it feels good to be back in the saddle. We test this week so hopefully I'll be able to put up some semi-respectable watts based on how little I've been on the bike the past 2 months (and rightfully so, I reckon!) and I'm looking forward to seeing those number improve over the next 2 months.

In the meantime, I plan on keeping the outdoor runs to a minimum (and with a few extra layers) until Mother Nature pulls us out of this arctic blast. Hopefully a quick dip in the pool will make its way onto the schedule this week and perhaps another session of yoga or two. I'm just ready for a little temperature reprieve soon so I don't have to park it on the treadmill (curse you hamster wheel!!!). Though these sub-zero temps will hopefully make me more than ready for the F^3 5k at the end of the month.

Stay warm out there, campers!